CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands on June 30 said his administration would comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said same-sex couples have the right to marry throughout the country.

The Virgin Islands Consortium reported that Gov. Kenneth Mapp announced during a press conference that he would issue an executive order that will require government agencies in the U.S. territory to allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot. The newspaper said the governor reiterated the U.S. Supreme Court ruling does not force local clergy to perform same-sex marriages.

“The nation has arrived, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s ruling, at full marriage equality — when two consenting adults appear for a marriage license and apply for that license, civil society is required to respond,” said Mapp, according to the Virgin Islands Consortium. “And so persons of the same-sex can be married in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

Same-sex marriages in nearby Puerto Rico are expected to begin later this month.